[vox] ISO: Good programming language to teach an 8yr old

[John Mark Walker]

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I would actually recommend a completely different way: have him buy a Lego=
=20
Mindstorms kit. Learn the vanilla language the comes with the kit and then=
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"graduate" to whatever hacked-up software you can find out there.

This has 2 benefits: 1. it's easy for the kid to visualize the results of w=
hat=20
he's doing and 2. he still learns the fundamentals of programming without=20
getting tangled into the PC-first mindset. Since it's quite possible that=20
much future programming will be for devices/appliances, this might be a=20
better tactic. While I don't believe the hype about the death of the PC, it=
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would certainly be valuable to learn from a very early age that=20
programming !=3D PC.

Having said that, I know nothing of the capabilities or syntax of the=20
programming language used for Mindstorms, but I have read that the hacks th=
at=20
were created allow you to do significantly more.

=2D -JM
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